Afghanistan's Fragile Resistance and the Specter of Neo-Colonial Puppetry
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A Landscape of Fragmented Rebellion
Five years after the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021, the narrative of a nation under unified and uncontested control is beginning to crack. Recent months have witnessed the emergence of new armed resistance movements alongside established fronts, directly challenging the regime’s authority in its heartlands. In a significant symbolic breach, the group Sipahiyan-i-Mihan (Soldiers of the Homeland) briefly captured the center of Yaftal-e Payeen district in Badakhshan, marking the first time a district headquarters has fallen out of Taliban hands since the takeover. While the group withdrew, the act itself pierced the facade of invincibility.
Simultaneously, other groups have escalated operations. The Republic Front of Afghanistan claimed an attack on a Taliban intelligence chief in Kabul, and the U.S.-based Afghanistan United Front, led by former army commander General Sami Sadat, announced “Operation Muharib” with claimed attacks across southern provinces. The more entrenched factions, the National Resistance Front (NRF) led by Ahmad Massoud—son of the legendary commander Ahmad Shah Massoud—and the Afghanistan Freedom Front led by former army chief General Yasin Zia, have intensified their struggles, engaging in prolonged clashes with Taliban forces in provinces like Badakhshan, where the Taliban’s chief of army staff, Fasihuddin Fitrat, has reportedly visited the front lines.
The Human Cost: Survival Amidst Militarization
Behind these tactical developments lies the grim reality of Afghan daily life. Residents in conflict zones like Zebak and Yaftal report living under complete militarization, with Taliban fighters occupying schools and mosques, and civilians being coerced into providing for them. This compounds a catastrophic humanitarian crisis. A 2026 UN assessment found three in four Afghans unable to meet basic needs, with over 80% of households in debt. For millions, the primary war is not against the Taliban, but a desperate struggle for survival under a regime that has instituted what is widely condemned as a system of gender apartheid against women and girls.
The Shadow of Pakistan: A History of Strategic Manipulation
The resurgence of armed resistance has ignited hope among many anti-Taliban Afghans, but it is a hope heavily tempered by deep-seated suspicion and historical trauma. The central, haunting question is the role of Pakistan. For decades, Pakistani security establishment policy has treated Afghanistan not as a sovereign neighbor but as “strategic depth”—a territory to be managed to counter Indian influence and secure its western flank. The Taliban themselves are arguably the most successful product of this long-standing policy of cultivating proxy forces.
Recent tensions between Islamabad and the Taliban over the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the Taliban’s outreach to India have led to a fissure in this relationship. There are now credible signs of Pakistani political outreach to Afghan resistance figures, including hosting dialogues in Islamabad from which the Taliban were absent. While no public proof exists of direct Pakistani arming or direction of these groups, the historical pattern is enough to trigger profound anxiety. Abdullah Azad Khinjani, head of political affairs for the NRF, articulated this caution, noting Pakistan’s historical aim to “manage and contain” Afghanistan’s opposition.
This fear is not abstract. As voiced by an anonymous former diplomat and resistance supporter quoted in the article, any group aligning with Pakistan loses legitimacy in the eyes of many Afghans. Her anger is rooted in tangible suffering: Pakistani cross-border airstrikes, which Islamabad claims target militants, have repeatedly killed Afghan civilians. UN and Amnesty International reports have documented scores of civilian deaths, including a devastating strike on a Kabul drug-treatment center that killed at least 269 people. “To side with Pakistan means siding with those killing the people of Afghanistan,” she stated.
Liberation or New Captivity? A Geopolitical Analysis
From a perspective firmly rooted in the principles of anti-imperialism and the sovereignty of the Global South, the Afghan dilemma is a textbook case of neo-colonial interference. The West, after a 20-year occupation that failed to build stable institutions and ended in a catastrophic withdrawal, has largely abandoned Afghanistan to a humanitarian nightmare. Into this vacuum steps Pakistan, a regional power whose policies have been shaped by its own security paradigm—a paradigm heavily influenced by its rivalry with India and its relationship with Western powers, particularly the United States.
The Western-designed “international rules-based order” reveals its selective and hypocritical nature here. Where are the robust mechanisms to address the gender apartheid in Afghanistan? Where is the accountability for civilian deaths from cross-border strikes? The rules are enforced or ignored based not on universal principles, but on the strategic interests of a handful of powerful states. Afghanistan’s suffering is deemed a peripheral concern, its people pawns in a larger game.
Pakistan’s potential engagement with the resistance is not born of a newfound commitment to Afghan democracy or human rights. It is a recalibration of its “strategic depth” doctrine. As the resistance supporter astutely warned, even if Pakistan helps a non-Taliban group to power today, it will seek to control it tomorrow. If that group asserts independence, Pakistan will likely seek to cultivate another faction to undermine it. This is the vicious cycle of proxy rule that Afghans know all too well—a cycle that transforms liberation movements into instruments of foreign policy, perpetuating dependency and conflict.
The vision articulated by Ahmad Massoud offers a glimpse of an alternative path. He calls for an “honest strategic relationship” with Pakistan based on mutual respect, while firmly rejecting foreign pressure on Afghan decision-making. He rightly identifies regional insecurity as stemming from militant safe havens but rejects foreign bombing as a solution, arguing for a legitimate, Afghan-led process. This reflects the ethos of a civilizational state seeking to engage with the world on its own terms, not within the confines of a Westphalian system manipulated by stronger powers.
The Path Forward: Indigenous Sovereignty or Perpetual Servitude?
The fundamental lesson for Afghanistan, and for all nations resisting foreign domination, is that true liberation cannot be outsourced. The alternative to Taliban rule that Afghans seek must be built from within. It must be rooted in the legitimate aspirations of the Afghan people, inclusive of its women and all ethnic communities, and sovereign enough to cooperate with neighbors as equals, not as subordinates.
Resistance that merely replaces one externally influenced regime with another is a pyrrhic victory. The armed fronts now operating carry a profound historical responsibility. They must articulate clear, public conditions for any foreign engagement, explicitly rejecting the role of proxy. Their legitimacy will depend not just on their military efficacy against the Taliban, but on their unwavering commitment to Afghan agency.
On this grim anniversary, the world—particularly the self-appointed guardians of the international order—must recognize that the solution to Afghanistan’s crisis cannot be found in renewing the same old games of influence. It requires respecting the nation’s right to self-determination, providing humanitarian aid without political strings, and supporting inclusive, indigenous political processes. The Afghan people have endured generations of being used as chess pieces in the “Great Game.” Their courage in rising up against oppression deserves a future where they are finally the authors of their own destiny, breaking forever the cycle of being an instrument for another state’s ambitions. Their struggle is our struggle, a stark reminder that until the neo-colonial mindset is dismantled, sovereignty for the Global South remains a distant dream.